Events to Catch Up On

I've been holding on to these pics for a couple of weeks... Marc surprised me with 'date night' and took me to Mamma Mia! on Broadway. It was a great show - I just love the storyline... I have to say that other shows I've seen were maybe a little more memorable but the voices of the performers in this play are phenominal. Now I can't wait to go see the movie - not sure how it'll compare to seeing it on stage but I'm looking forward to finding out. I do think it's a solid 'girl movie' so I might have to wait until I'm in the right place to watch this one - not sure Marc would sit through it with me, lol!


Marc also lucked out and had a client offer up tickets to go to one of the Food and Wine Festival events here in town this past weekend. We are big Food Network fans - or at least I am and Marc has to be by default, haha... so we were really pumped for this event.

It was an evening, red carpet affair (we found out when we showed up...oops...forgot to wear my staple "Red Carpet outfit-for-just-in-case-purposes" dress -rriiigghhttt...) full of the best sweets and treats from some of the best chefs in the country. Here's a short description from the website to give you a better idea of what we were walking into...


Late-night desserts never tasted so good - pity you can’t wear your jammies! Even so, get yourself to what might well be the greatest collection of sweets ever found in one location: frosted layer cakes with filling flavors you’ll love; dark chocolates infused with exotic spices that will ruin you for everyday candy bars; cookies crafted from the finest ingredients and resembling works of art; ice-cream so rich and creamy you will dream about it for days. For one blissful evening, New York’s finest confectioners and cheese artisans will join forces in an amazing display of sugar and dairy. Hosted by the king of over-the-top desserts – industrial-strength cake-maker Duff Goldman –this party will also feature the world’s most perfect accompaniment to sweet, rich, ooey-gooey dessert: Champagne and specialty cocktails from Absolut Vodka. Other fine wines and spirits will round out the beverage list, making this all so much better than your usual midnight trip to the cookie jar.

Needless to say, Marc and I being the dessert freaks we are were seriously pumped up for this big night of sweets. Not to mention my fanatical obsession with Ace of Cakes, hosted by Duff Goldman, sounded like a night too good to be true. And it was!!! Can't beat champagne, chocolate and celebrity sightings...we had a blast!

I really enjoyed the champagne AND this amazing centerpiece in the middle of the bar....I mean seriously, outrageously gorgeous....

Above is the hall we walked into - it was set up like a night club with tables full of deserts and drinks lining the walls..

Here's an example of ONE of the tables full of desserts...there were about 40 restaurants/bars/chefs/bakeries with tables set up like this. Needless to say, Marc and I both left with a tummy ache - but who can blame us!?

I loved this Evian 'Water Bar' - talk about getting creative with H2O...

These were sugar and chocolate sculptures - I love watching chefs put these together...they take so much work and concentration and patience....just amazing stuff.

Here we are with Duff - he was really cool...definitely one of those guys you can BS with and pick up conversation super easy... Very friendly guy!

The above are all ice cream push-pops...Yeah, That's Right! They are filled with vanilla and caramel ice cream....yuuuhuuummm!


We did have the opportunity to meet a few celebrities including Bobby Flay (my Food Network hero!) - unfortunately, we didn't get a picture with him. But look who we DID get a picture with!???


The Piano Man himself.... SO cool! (for those asking - who in the world is The Piano Man - BILLY JOEL PEOPLE!)

We had such a great night... Empire State building was lit up beautifully even though it's hard to see in the background... One last picture for the evening - I love this man! =)